IMF, World Bank chiefs urge focus on fair growth

Lagarde has urged that European creditors give Greece an extra two years to meet austerity targets required to get and continue receiving loans, after nearly defaulting on its mountain of debt.

Such accommodations would just confuse markets, increasing uncertainty, Schauble said.

In Japan, both Lagarde and Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, have stressed that without greater equity and equality, growth will be unsustainable.

The IMF’s mission is threefold: economic surveillance, advice and providing temporary funding, while the World Bank’s mission is to fight poverty. The bank uses funds from donor members and proceeds from bond sales to provide low-interest loans to developing countries.

During the meetings, Kim has spoken often about the need to ensure food security for the poor at a time when spikes in prices have become routine.

To fortify a “safety net” for crises while supporting improvements to make farming more efficient and sustainable, ministers pledged new funds for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a trust fund set up in 2010.

Japan and South Korea each promised $30 million in new funding, while the U.S. pledged to contribute an extra $1 for every $2 contributed by other donors, up to a total amount of $475 million. Including those new funds, the fund has financial support of $1.3 billion.